Night settled over the Cursed Pack like a heavy blanket.
The battlefield had finally grown quiet.
Bodies of broken weapons, torn banners, and the faint scent of blood lingered in the air, but the wolves who had once been corrupted now sat quietly within the courtyard. Some were confused. Others were ashamed. Many were still recovering from the Order's control.
Leila stood on the wooden balcony outside Dominic's quarters, staring into the forest.
The First Bloodline was calm again.
But not peaceful.
It felt like the quiet before something enormous.
Dominic stepped beside her, crossing his arms.
"You should be resting."
Leila gave a small smile.
"I could say the same to you."
Dominic leaned against the railing.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Leila broke the silence.
"Those wolves…"
Dominic nodded.
"They were victims."
"The Order turned them into weapons," she said softly.
Dominic's eyes darkened.
"And we're going to stop them."
Before Leila could respond—
A sudden pressure slammed into the air.
Every wolf in the camp felt it instantly.
A suffocating presence.
Dominic straightened immediately.
"That's not normal alpha pressure."
Leila's silver eyes widened.
"No…"
This was something else.
The air itself seemed to bend.
Wolves across the camp began to whine uneasily.
Some dropped to their knees.
Marcus ran into the courtyard, looking furious.
"Dominic!"
Dominic jumped down from the balcony.
"What is it?"
Marcus pointed toward the sky.
"You need to see this."
They rushed into the open courtyard.
And froze.
Above the forest… something hovered.
Not a wolf.
Not exactly human.
A figure cloaked in long black robes floated several feet above the ground, surrounded by swirling dark energy.
The wolves growled uneasily.
The figure's face was hidden beneath a hood.
But the moment it spoke—
The entire pack went silent.
"Dominic."
The voice echoed unnaturally across the valley.
Leila stepped forward slowly.
"You must be the one leading the Order of Fracture."
The hooded figure chuckled.
"Very perceptive, Eclipse Luna."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"Come down here and say that again."
The figure drifted slightly closer, still hovering.
"You truly are your father's son."
Dominic stiffened.
Leila noticed instantly.
"You knew his father?" she asked.
The hood tilted slightly.
"Knew him?"
The figure laughed softly.
"I was the one who ensured his death."
Dominic's wolf surged violently beneath the surface.
Marcus grabbed his arm quickly.
"Alpha."
Dominic's voice was deadly calm.
"You're brave… coming here alone."
The figure shook its head slowly.
"Oh Dominic… I'm never alone."
The dark energy around him shifted.
Behind the floating figure—
Shadows moved inside the forest.
Dozens.
No.
Hundreds.
Red eyes began appearing between the trees.
Leila felt the First Bloodline flare again.
"Mutated wolves."
The hooded figure spread his arms dramatically.
"My army."
Dominic stepped forward.
"You created them."
"Yes."
"Why?"
The figure paused.
Then slowly lowered his hood.
Gasps erupted across the courtyard.
The man beneath it looked… normal.
Sharp features.
Long silver hair tied behind his back.
Cold grey eyes.
Leila felt something strange.
Recognition.
"You're not a wolf," she whispered.
The man smiled.
"No."
Marcus blinked.
"Then what the hell are you?"
The man's eyes gleamed with dark amusement.
"I am Malachar."
He spoke the name like it carried centuries of weight.
"I am the last High Warlock of the Eclipse Age."
The elders near the courtyard gate gasped.
One of them whispered in horror.
"That name should be impossible."
Leila frowned.
"Why?"
The elder looked pale.
"Because Malachar died three hundred years ago."
Malachar laughed.
"Ah… history."
He looked directly at Leila.
"Such a flexible thing."
Dominic stepped forward again.
"You experimented on wolves for centuries."
Malachar shrugged casually.
"You call it experimentation."
"I call it evolution."
Leila's eyes hardened.
"You enslaved them."
Malachar tilted his head.
"Temporary control."
"They will become something greater."
Dominic's patience snapped.
"You turned them into monsters."
Malachar's smile widened.
"No, Dominic."
He gestured toward the forest behind him.
"I turned them into the future."
Leila stepped forward.
"You're trying to replace natural wolves."
Malachar nodded approvingly.
"Exactly."
Marcus stared at him like he had lost his mind.
"Why would you want to destroy the natural packs?"
Malachar's grey eyes glowed faintly.
"Because wolves… have stagnated."
He pointed toward Dominic.
"You hide behind ancient laws."
"Pack bonds."
"Alpha hierarchies."
"Fate."
Then he pointed at Leila.
"But you two…"
His smile widened.
"You broke those rules."
Dominic frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Malachar's voice grew colder.
"The Eclipse Bond."
Leila felt the First Bloodline stir.
Malachar continued.
"When your bond formed… it completed a prophecy older than the packs themselves."
Dominic and Leila exchanged a look.
"What prophecy?" Dominic asked.
Malachar chuckled.
"Oh… you truly don't know?"
The warlock raised his hand.
Dark energy gathered around his fingers.
"Then allow me to show you."
The sky above the camp suddenly filled with swirling visions.
Ancient wolves.
Bloodlines.
Wars.
The First Bloodline splitting into fragments.
And at the center of everything—
Two figures.
A shadow wolf.
And a silver wolf.
Leila's heart pounded.
"That's us."
Malachar nodded.
"Yes."
He lowered his hand slowly.
"You were never meant to restore balance."
Dominic's voice dropped.
"Then what?"
Malachar's smile turned cruel.
"You were meant to start the final war."
The mutated wolves behind him howled.
Hundreds of glowing red eyes lit the forest.
Dominic stepped forward, shadow energy rising around him.
"Then you picked the wrong pack."
Malachar floated backward slightly.
"Perhaps."
His eyes gleamed.
"But the next time we meet…"
The forest trembled.
"You won't just face my army."
Leila felt dread crawl through her chest.
"What else is there?"
Malachar's grin widened.
"The other Alpha Killers."
Dominic growled.
"How many?"
Malachar vanished into the shadows of the forest.
But his voice echoed one last time across the valley.
"Twelve."
Silence fell across the Cursed Pack.
Marcus slowly rubbed his face.
"…We fought one."
Leila looked toward the mountains.
"Now there are eleven more."
Dominic's eyes burned with cold determination.
"Then we hunt them."